A finalist has become the first ever beauty queen to compete without wearing any makeup in the pageant's nearly century-long history.
Melisa Raouf, a 20-year-old college student from south London, moved forward at the pageant's semifinals on Monday after opting for a barefaced look. Now, she'll compete in the finals this October for the crown.
"It means a lot to me as I feel many girls of different ages wear makeup because they feel pressured to do so," Raouf said in an with the U.K.'s Independent newspaper.
"If one is happy in their own skin we should not be made to cover up our face with makeup. Our flaws make us who we are and that's what makes every individual unique," she added.
Raouf said that, though she started wearing makeup at a young age, she decided to eschew tradition for the pageant.
"I never felt I met beauty standards. I have recently accepted that I am beautiful in my own skin and that's why I decided to compete with no makeup," she explained in the interview.
In May, Raouf a selfie on Instagram from the "bare face" round of the competition, writing that she was "embracing blemishes and imperfections."
CNN has contacted Raouf for further comment.
Angie Beasley, director of Miss England, told CNN in a statement on Friday: "We introduced the Bare Face Top Model round in 2019 as most contestants were submitting highly edited images wearing lots of makeup and we wanted to see the real person behind the makeup."
According to organizers, Raouf plans to go bare-faced again at the national final in October.
"We wish her the best of luck in Miss England, it's a very brave thing to do when everyone else is wearing makeup but she's sending out an important message to young women," Beasley added.
The streets of downtown Ottawa are turning into a sea of orange with hundreds of people already in place on Parliament Hill ahead of a ceremony to honour the survivors of Canada's residential school system and the children who never made it home.
This week, Avery Haines follows migrants' harrowing journeys across the Darien Gap. Strict new rules to stem the flood of migrants through the notorious stretch of dense jungle appear to be working, but advocates fear it could backfire.
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The son of a Canadian couple killed during Israeli strikes on Lebanon last week says Ottawa must do more to help citizens leave the country as fighting between Israel and the Hezbollah militant group intensifies.
Seas of orange shirts have come to represent a growing awareness of Canada's history of oppressing Indigenous Peoples – but that awareness must translate into more "substantive changes" from the government, according to a B.C. chief.
A child was sent to hospital after being attacked by a coyote in northwest Calgary.
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Dockworkers kicked off a three-day strike at the Port of Montreal on Monday, shutting down two terminals that handle more than 40 per cent of the container traffic at Canada's second-largest port.
For the first time in Rwanda’s history, its health ministry is dealing with an outbreak of Marburg virus disease, a rare but deadly hemorrhagic disease similar to Ebola – but unlike Ebola, there is no treatment or vaccines for Marburg, and it has a fatality rate of 88 per cent.
A man who authorities say spent 12 hours camped outside Donald Trump's golf course before Secret Service spotted him with a rifle pleaded not guilty on Monday to federal charges including attempted assassination.
Republican JD Vance and Democrat Tim Walz will meet Tuesday in the lone vice presidential debate of the 2024 election, bringing together undercards who have spent two months going after each other and the opposing nominees who top the major-party tickets.
Nearly 6,000 people in Haiti are starving, with nearly half the country's population of more than 11 million people experiencing crisis levels of hunger or worse as gang violence smothers life in the capital of Port-au-Prince and beyond, according to a new report released Monday.
Officials tell The Associated Press that Israel has launched small, precision raids across the border in Lebanon and that a larger ground operation is being planned.
A California man charged with shooting and wounding two Jewish men as they left synagogues in Los Angeles last year was sentenced Monday to 35 years in prison, federal prosecutors said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly is asking members of the United Nations to counter growing political polarization abroad while taking shots at Conservative rhetoric at home.
The Liberal government is announcing more details on its existing strategy and funding to fight hate crimes.
Migrant groups are pushing the federal government to reverse its cap on international study permits and tightening post-graduate work permit qualifications, claiming it will leave many students 'in limbo.'
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The fertility rate in Canada reached an all-time low in 2023, and the lowest rate was recorded in British Columbia, according to new data from Statistics Canada.
The two astronauts stuck at the International Space Station since June welcomed their new ride home with Sunday's arrival of a SpaceX capsule.
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Canadian innovators and technical leaders gathered in Ottawa Thursday to demonstrate the latest cutting-edge technology.
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Oasis shocked fans by announcing a reunion tour last month, ending a 15-year hiatus and, presumably, the long-held feud between brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher. But those were only U.K. dates. On Monday, the band shared that they're planning on heading to North America in 2025, too.
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Dockworkers kicked off a three-day strike at the Port of Montreal on Monday, shutting down two terminals that handle more than 40 per cent of the container traffic at Canada's second-largest port.
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Kim Ruether lifted her son's eyelid and saw his still, dilated pupil staring at the ceiling as he lay on a stretcher in a northwestern Alberta hospital hallway a decade ago. She says she didn't need a doctor to tell her the boy was dead.
Many people consider eating less meat, be it for health, environmental or animal-welfare reasons. (Livestock accounts for nearly half of agricultural emissions fueling climate change.) But they sometimes hesitate because they are concerned about how they would replace all that lost protein.
Toronto Raptors team president Masai Ujiri tried to lay to rest rumours that he has friction with Edward Rogers, the executive chair of Rogers Communications, Inc.
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General Motors’ Cruise autonomous vehicle division will pay a US$1.5 million penalty after the unit failed to fully report a crash involving a pedestrian, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Monday.
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Ryan Hunter's athleticism has been on full display since his arrival in the CFL, but the Canadian's versatility is now shining through.
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A 14-year-old has been missing from Marlborough for two weeks, and police are hoping you can help find them.
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Health Canada has granted a three-year exemption under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to one of Lowertown's safe consumption sites that will allow the facility to continue operating.
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Dockworkers kicked off a three-day strike at the Port of Montreal on Monday, shutting down two terminals that handle more than 40 per cent of the container traffic at Canada's second-largest port.
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Mounties say one person is dead in the aftermath of a collision involving two vehicles south of Calmar on Sunday.
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The St. Andrews Historical Society in St. Andrews, N.B., announced that it would exhibit “one of the most significant 18th-century treaties between Great Britain and two First Nations of Canada†at Drewhaven Town & Country on Thursday.
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Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen touched down in Winnipeg this week, ahead of his lunar mission set to launch in a year’s time.
Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service crews believe a candle caused a major house fire in the city’s William Whyte neighbourhood Sunday afternoon.
A man is in custody after allegedly robbing a business in McLean, Sask. with an edged weapon on Saturday.
The Friends of the Regina Public Library (FRPL) sponsored an architectural tour on Sunday, for folks looking to learn more about the history of the library's historic central branch.
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An Etobicoke resident was taken to hospital after he told a Guelph Police officer he had been stabbed during Homecoming celebrations near the University of Guelph.
A woman has been charged as part of a murder investigation in Brantford.
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Monday marks the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation across Canada — a time to honour the Indigenous peoples impacted by the brutal legacy of residential schools.
The fourth and final walk in memory of Megan Gallagher drew around one hundred people in Saskatoon on Sunday.
A 73-year-old man on a mobility scooter was killed Sunday night in Sudbury after being hit by a vehicle on Lasalle Boulevard and Barry Downe Road.
There were some tense moments in downtown Sudbury on Saturday night after patrol officers found a pipe bomb in the trunk of a vehicle during a traffic stop.
A pedestrian has died after reportedly getting struck by an OPP cruiser in Bala early Sunday morning.
Students from three elementary schools in the Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB) were taking part in a day of learning on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
The City of London is informing drivers about temporary road restrictions on Wellington Street as part of the Downtown Loop Phase 3 finishing work and surface paving.
The very first -20 degree Celsius reading of the year has been recorded in Canada’s arctic – a good reminder that summer is officially behind us.
The fourth annual National Day for Truth and Reconciliation saw plenty of community members gathering across Barrie on Monday, reflecting on the impacts of residential schools and honouring survivors.
Around 20 South Simcoe Police officers attended the 47th annual Canadian Police and Peace Officers' Memorial Service in Ottawa on Sunday with three fallen constables in their hearts.
An early Sunday morning fire in Colgan that caused significant damage is under investigation.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers seized $11,000 US from an inbound American citizen at the Ambassador Bridge.
A section of Drouillard Road will close this week for an infrastructure renewal project.
The City of Windsor has unveiled plans for the “Park in Perfect Harmony†initiative in the downtown core.
The residential “school†survivor whose story sparked Orange Shirt Day — and the “Every Child Matters†movement — says she is worried the cause is being forgotten.
Seas of orange shirts have come to represent a growing awareness of Canada's history of oppressing Indigenous Peoples – but that awareness must translate into more "substantive changes" from the government, according to a B.C. chief.
British Columbia's election campaign is entering its second week with each party's team of candidates in place and the leaders looking ahead to the upcoming televised debate.
Fire crews in Vernon, B.C., responded to a large house fire early Saturday morning.
A pair of runaway pigs are in the custody of an animal sanctuary in the Okanagan after evading police and volunteers for hours earlier this week.
The Red Bridge, a historic landmark in Kamloops, B.C., was completely destroyed by fire early Thursday morning.
The sentencing for three men convicted of helping lead and coordinate the COVID-19 protest blockade at Coutts, Alta., in 2022 has been delayed.
A 10-year-old boy from Lethbridge is being praised as a hero after a routine summer outing at the pool nearly turned tragic for his friend.
A man and woman have been charged after a Lethbridge ice creamery was broken into earlier this week. Staff arrived at Cookie Crimes, in the 300 block of Sixth Street South, just before 5:30 a.m. on Monday to discover the front window broken.
Overnight on Thursday as the community of Elliot Lake was resting to prepare for the upcoming Kraft Hockeyville celebrations, when vandals struck a building that has been top of mind for the northern Ontario city for more than a year.
Ontario Provincial Police remind the public that ‘a case is never closed until it is solved,’ while highlighting the force's continued investigation of the 1996 disappearance of Melanie Ethier.
Sault residents may notice some commotion on the Algoma University campus over the next two weeks as a team conducts an archaeological search.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
A soccer game in England on Tuesday night drove a spike in online traffic across the Atlantic to a website launched by the Newfoundland and Labrador government.
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